The Athens Declaration adopted by the European Union's seven Mediterranean
countries, during last week's meeting in the Greek capital, will form
the basis of the Greek positions at Friday's informal European Council
in Bratislava, government sources informed the Athens-Macedonian News
Agency (ANA) on Thursday. Greece will additionally present additional
positions of its own at the Bratislava summit, which is to be attended
by 27 EU member-states excluding Britain, the sources said.

In statements about the Mediterranean leaders' meeting last week, Greek
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that the aim of the meeting was to
arrive at a joint and constructive contribution to the dialogue that
was now beginning about the future of Europe, so that the Bratislava
summit could serve as "democratic Europe's reply to populism, xenophobia
and racism".

The government's impression is that all the countries that signed the
Athens Declaration will use it as the basis of their intervention in
Bratislava, the sources added, noting that this would be positive since a
joint stance will strengthen the specific agenda within the meeting. Also
welcomed by the government side were the statements made by European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in his annual speech, which
they expect will also help to strengthen the specific agenda.

The Greek side again noted that the aim of the Athens meeting was not
to create division or another grouping within the EU, but to contribute
positively to setting an agenda. The prime minister also presented
this point of view in his talk with German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
the sources added.

Greek positions at Bratislava will include steps to enhance defence
of the EU's external borders and internal security, with an upgraded
foreign policy and international role for the EU, solidarity in dealing
with the refugee crisis and a fair distribution of the burden between
the EU member-states, as well as steps to set up an EU border and coast
guard and cooperate with third countries.

The refugee issue dominated the prime minister's discussion with Merkel,
with agreement on the need to reinforce the presence of the European
Asylum Support Office (EASO) with additional staff and speed up relocation
procedures.

Finally, on the economic front, there seems to be movement toward the
positions outlined in the Athens Declaration, calling for more emphasis
on growth, social cohesion and greater flexibility in implementing
the Stability and Growth Pact, as reflected in Juncker's speech, the
sources said.

The summit of European Union leaders in Bratislabva on Friday should
send a message of solidarity and cohesion but the important issue is to
deal with the union's problems faster, the German Minister of State for
Europe, Michael Roth told Athens -Macedonian News Agency on Thursday,
after a meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Xydakis in Athens.

"Bratislava should send one signal [of] unity, solidarity and
cohesion. This is the mutual understanding of the political leaders of
the EU but we shouldn't overestimate the Bratislava meeting because it
is just one step," he said.

"The most important step is that political leaders deliver as soon as
possible. We have to speed up our measures in combatting the problems
in the EU," he added.

Asked how unified the EU on issues such as migration, Roth said:
"I'm fully convinced that at the end, the Brexit made very clear that
nationalistic and populist solutions are definitely not solutions,"
he said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday welcomed an investment
agreement signed between China's CMEC and Public Power Corporation (PPC).

"The investment by Chinese CMEC together with PPC in Greece is a vote of
confidence to the Greek economy," the Greek premier said in a comment
posted on twitter. "After the port of Piraeus, it is the second most
significant and the top in size Chinese investment in Greece," the Prime
Minister said, adding: "It confirms the importance of our visit to China
and its strategic interest in Greece."

"The message sent to Bratislava wil be that of unity and not division,"
Alternate Foreign Minister Nikos Xydakis on Thursday said in a statement
to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, a day before the informal EU summit.

Xydakis, who will accompany Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the EU
summit, stressed the need for Europe to restore its social character,
to march towards convergence and the consolidation of democracy, and be
united on the basis of solidarity and development.

"We are listening to the societies. Europe must regain its social face
and walk towards convergence and the consolidation of democracy," the
Alternate Foreign Minister noted.

"In order to make the vision of Europe attractive to citizens again,
we will have to show realism and flexibility. We need to be persuasive
and effective to restore Europe's democratic and social character, and
eliminate the discontent that feeds the right-wing hate wording. The EU
crisis is not the result of a natural disaster. The causes are political
and therefore the solution lies in politics. Europe must be united on the
basis of solidarity and development. This is the right time," he added.

[09] Last meeting between Finance and Economy ministers with institutions
on Friday

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis
will meet with the institutions' mission chiefs on Friday for the
last time before they leave Athens, to review the progress made in the
negotiations on the remaining prior actions.

The meeting is scheduled at 10:00. Earlier, the representatives of the
institutions will meet with Education Minister Nikos Filis at 09:00.

The mission chiefs will leave Athens on Friday and the next crucial date
is September 29, when the EuroWorking Group (EWG) will meet to approve
the disbursement of the sub-tranche totaling 2.8 billion euros.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Deputy Finance Minister
George Chouliarakis on Thursday presented budget execution data during a
meeting with representatives of the institutions to discuss developments
in public finances.

Finance ministry sources said the Greek side underlined an improvement
in budget revenue this year, which surpassed estimates, and noted
that this improvement will continue in 2017. The same sources said
that an expected improvement in next year's revenues was the result of
implementing specific measures which were of particular importance for
the outlook of economic recovery in the country.

Pension system related issues dominated talks between Labour Minister
George Katrougalos and representatives of the institutions in Athens
on Thursday. Speaking after the meeting, Katrougalos said the two main
issues discussed were a request made by various professional associations
- such as lawyers, civil engineers and others - for the foundation of
professional funds, as well as the implementation of a measure announced
by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for a 'freeze' of the outstanding social
insurance debts of the self-employed, provided they were up-to-date with
current payments.

The measure announced by the premier will allow all accumulated debts
up to December 31, 2016 to be 'put in hibernation' so that those insured
with the OAEE and ETAA funds for the self-employed can receive documents
showing they are up to date with payments, providing they pay new social
insurance contributions that come due after January 1, 2017.

Katrougalos said the representatives of Greece's lenders asked to see
"specific numbers and also specific and substantiated proposals on these
issues." He said the figures will be sent to the institutions over the
coming days and discussed in conference calls next week.

Asked about the "advertising stamp duty" that finances the journalists'
pension and health fund, the minister said there would be no further
extension of this and that a meeting will be held on Friday with
representatives of media workers to discuss the next moves.

The government is close to a deal with the institutions on how to
restructure the non-performing loans (NPLs) of business and is expected
to complete the relevant draft bill by the end of the month, a senior
official at the Economy ministry said on Thursday.

The bill will foresee, on the one hand, the extrajudicial mechanism
for the settlement of all business debts to banks, pension funds and
the taxman and on the other, changes in the bankruptcy code aimed at
accelerating bankruptcy procedures.

The senior official said the bill is difficult to complete but an
agreement is close, adding that a new meeting is scheduled between the
government and the institutions on Friday. Once the committee completes
the draft bill, it will be sent to the institutions to be reviewed and
discussed at length when they return to Athens for the second review.

The bill will state that committees will be set up with the participation
of Greece's creditors which, based on the recommendation of special
reviewers, will draft a plan for the extrajudicial settlement of debts,
which will be ratified by judges.

In the case of large companies with high debts, the proposals to the
committees will be made by major audit firms and not by individual
evaluators.

[13] Views of government and institutions on NPLs converge, says minister

There has been a "convergence of views" on issues relating to
the Commission which will be responsible for the restructuring of
non-performing business loans, Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis said on
Thursday after a meeting with the institutions' mission chiefs in Athens.

"The climate was very positive and we're very close to completing talks
on the extrajudicial [settlement] mechanism, while only a few secondary
technical issues remain open," he said, adding the procedure will concern
all businesses, irrespective of size.

"Neoliberalism can mean many things, but if it means letting markets
reign without restrains is always the answer then I'm also against
neoliberalism," Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate, economist, said in an
interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

The economist and New York Times columnist is in Athens to participate
in the 4th Athens Democracy Forum organised under the auspices of Greek
President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

Krugman found Pavlopoulos' speech interesting. "A very interesting speech,
there were a few themes in there that are dear to my own heart. It' s
good to see someone talking about the necessity of reining in ... we're
from market economies but there need to be some ground rules. I was
happy to hear it."

Asked on the austerity imposed, he said: "As I took it, it was more
about the obsession with structural reform which can be a good thing
but it is often taken to mean simply remove all restrictions, which is
not what you want."

Regarding the US elections, Krugman commented: "Well, the New York Times
model says 80 percent Hilary Clinton. I hope that's true. Well, no, I'm
not allowed to do endorsements, sorry, but God knows. It's frightening
that we have a risk of a very, very bad accident right now and I won't
be relaxed until the day after."

[15] The negotiation framework will not change in a few weeks, says
Alt.FM Xydakis

"We should not expect that in a few weeks the framework of the negotiation
will change" stated Alternate Foreign Minister Nikos Xydakis referring
to the change of climate in EU regarding the stability pact.

Speaking to public broadcaster ERT on Thursday he referred to European
Commission president Jean Claude Juncker's speech on Wednesday and the
flexibility he proposed noting that "Dogmatism and neoliberal ideology
is collapsing".

He underlined that Brexit was a huge shock and expressed his concern
over the rapid rise of the extreme right and the rhetoric of hatred,
racial hygiene and animosity noting that now even the conservative
politicians wake up.

Xydakis opined that on the migration and refugees issue the European
Union reacted with delay.

[16] Relocation is the most tangible proof of European solidarity,
EU Commissioner Avramopoulos says

Relocation is the most tangible proof of European solidarity towards
both the people in need of protection and overcharged Member States,
EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos
said at the European Parliament Plenary Session.

"Better sharing of responsibility among Member States is not a pull
factor. It is an indispensable tool at our disposal to better manage
the refugee crisis and the migration challenge in general," he explained.

"We have to be realistic: while Greece and Italy are making great
efforts, they cannot shoulder the responsibility alone and entirely to
host and protect all the asylum seekers present on their territory. So,
all Member States have to step in and take their part of responsibility,"
Avramopoulos underlined and added: "But most importantly, in the long
term, we have to avoid that these people undertake such dangerous journeys
by bringing them to Europe safely and legally. This is what resettlement
is about - and this task starts already now."

The purpose of the Commission proposal was to provide the possibility
for Member States to use the 54,000 unallocated relocation places for
resettlement and other forms of legal admission of Syrians from Turkey
to the EU, he said.

The Commissioner stressed that relocation and resettlement should be
among the top EU's priorities in the months ahead, and they go hand
in hand. "These are the real humanitarian needs that all Member States
should stop merely talking about and start acting and delivering more."

[17] Europe must exist with one face, one speed, or else it won't exist,
President tells CNN

The European Union must exist with one face and in one speed, otherwise it
cannot exist at all, President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said in an interview
with CNN and Christiane Amanpour, which was aired on Thursday.

Pavlopoulos was responding to a question about the Brexit and its effects,
and whether it is possible to create a two-speed Europe instead, like
Hungary has suggested.

"Europe will exist with one face, one speed, or it won't exist at
all. Europe cannot be like Janus - to remind you the ancient tradition
of the Romans. If Europe becomes a Janus, it will just be a loose union
of states but then it will have failed to defend the reasons for which
it was created. I remind you why Europe was created: So that we don't
relive the nightmares of the Second World War. And this presupposes a
Europe where there's solidarity and equality," Pavlopoulos said.

We must defend this and we cannot do that with two gears. You cannot be
a little of very European. Either you're European or you're not."

[18] Greek Parliament President urges radical decisions for refugee
crisis at Council of Europe

STRASBOURG (ANA/ O. Tsipira)

Greek Parliament President Nikos Voutsis on Thursday called for radical
and bold decisions for the refugee crisis on a global scale, in a speech
at the Council of Europe marking the opening of a discussion on the role
and responsibilities of national parliaments. It was also necessary
for member-states of the CoE to have awareness of their own share of
responsibility in magnifying the causes of this crisis, he added.

"The source of the problem is the obvious multiple destabilisation,
both in the broader region of the Middle East and in North Africa, and
this is not some passing flare-up. On the contrary, all factors lead
toward exacerbation, chief and most visible being the sources of civil
conflict and foreign intervention, violent fundamentalist religious
confrontations, increasing economic inequality and even unfavourable
environmental changes," he said.

The answer lay in bold and radical international initiatives to establish
peace and growth in these areas, so that their people can live in
conditions of security and prosperity, Voutsis added, pointing out that
no one wanted to leave the land of their birth to become a refugee.

Voutsis also highlighted Europe's share of responsibility for the
problems, noting a lack of collective awareness in Europe of the role
it played "through our participation in actions, through omissions,
inertia and indifference and even through policies of exploitation that
made intrinsic factors more acute."

The Greek parliament president criticised the "myopic" policies adopted
since the end of the 20th century, which he said had given rise to
the "Fortress Europe" mentality, racist and xenophobic ideologies
and practices that had proved costly in the past, even to the point of
regression and the raising of barriers and fences at the borders. He was
also critical of the decisions taken by the European Union to address the
refugee crisis, saying they were "timid" - albeit in the right direction -
while their implementation was "essentially still pending". Additional
delays and refusals in this area could lead to further deterioration
with uncontrolled repercussions," he added.

[19] Frontex says migrant arrivals in Greece in August were 'well below
record levels'

The number of migrants arriving on the Greek islands of the eastern
Aegean in August remained well below the record levels from last year,
Frontex said on Thursday.

Last month, the figure dropped to 3,430, down 97 percent compared to
the same month of last year. However, August also saw a first noticeable
monthly increase since the EU-Turkey statement came into effect and the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied stricter border policies
at its border with Greece, the agency added. In July, the number of
arrivals stood at 2,030.

Most of the new arrivals in the country last month were from Syria,
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The biggest migratory pressure in August was on Italy as it received
23,000 migrants, close to the number from the same month of last year.

The Greek branch of UNICEF and the Ombudsman for Children's Rights both
intervened on Thursday to support the rights of refugee children to
schooling, in response to reactions voiced by parents in the Thessaloniki
district of Oraiokastro against their presence in local schools.

"Children, regardless of where they are or where they come from, are
above all children," said the Hellenic National Committee for UNICEF and
noted that the children will all be fully vaccinated, while their good
health is already being ensured at the refugee reception centres. It
also pointed out that the special classes for refugee children will be
held separately from the normal programme, in the afternoon hours.

The organisation further noted that every child has rights and UNICEF's
concerns that, without education, a generation of children living in
countries affected by conflict, natural disasters and extreme poverty
will grow up without the necessary skills to contribute to their countries
and their economies, making their plight even worse.

The Assistant Ombudsman for Children's Rights Giorgos Moschos sent a
letter to the parents and guardians associations of Oraiokastro schools
informing them that their actions are not legal and that parents'
associations do not have the right to ask that categories of children
be barred from attending school.

"Such a thing would be illegal and, in addition, the phrasing of the
request could constitute intolerant and racist speech. Nor do [parent
associations] have the right to threaten illegal actions, such as taking
over public spaces and especially the school itself," he said.

The statements of New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis include
cuts in critical sectors, layoffs as well as reductions in salaries and
pensions, government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said in an interview
with News247 website on Thursday.

Gerovassili accused the main opposition leader that he has already decided
what deal he would sign with the institutions in order to achieve lower
primary surpluses.

"The government aims to agree on and implement the short-term, medium-term
and long-term measures for debt relief that were agreed at the Eurogroup
of May 24. This would build confidence and pave the way for investors
so that the country has access to the markets with interest rates as in
the other eurozone countries," she added.

Greek Corruption Prosecutors on Thursday raided the family home of Bank
of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras, in connection with an investigation
into advertising spending by the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention (HCDCP), received by a company linked to the central banker's
wife Stavroula Nikolopoulou-Stournara.

Sources said the prosecutors conducting the raid confiscated documents
and electronic files related to the activities of Nikolopoulou-Stournara's
company and its dealings with the HCDCP.

Bank of Greece sources earlier confirmed that a raid was carried out,
while noting that the "alleged judicial officials refused to show
identification."

An official central bank statement on the incident might be issued during
the day.

This is the second investigation concerning the HCDCP's advertising
spending, following an investigation that culminated in the prosecution
of the agency's director and board members in 2015 for breach of faith,
concerning their actions in the years 2011-2013.

Based on evidence collected by the corruption prosecutors in that case,
which is now in the hands of an examining magistrate , the HCDCP spent
sums greater than 2.0 million euros on messages to inform the public
about health issues, such as the seasonal flu and others, which could
have been broadcast without charge as public service messages. In
addition, the investigators discovered irregularities in some of the
related tender procedures, while in one case the contract was awarded
to a company that should have been ruled out for non-payment of social
insurance contributions.

[23] Central banker Yannis Stournaras contacts PM over prosecutors'
raid at his home

Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras on Thursday contacted Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras and informed him of a raid carried out on
his family home by prosecutors for corruption cases earlier the same
day. According to government sources, the prime minister learned of the
incident from Stournaras.

The same source said that the prime minister and central banker both
agreed that this is an investigation by independent justice, in which
both have confidence. They also agreed that this development will not
affect cooperation between the government and the Bank of Greece.

[24] GenSec Kretsos on abolition of 'main shareholder' law, decision to
restrict TV licences to four

General Secretary for News and Communication Lefteris Kretsos on Thursday
countered opposition criticism regarding the abolition of laws barring
state contractors from owning television media. Talking to the radio
station 'Athina 98.4', Kretsos said the change was made to harmonise
Greek and Community law, pointing out that no European country had
a similar barrier preventing businesses awarded state contracts from
media ownership.

He also dismissed arguments that the restriction in the number of
television broadcasting licences was solely responsible for higher
unemployment among journalist and media personnel, pointing out that
audiovisual production in the country had shrunk by 36 pct in 2015.

Kretsos disputed claims that the digital spectrum could "fit" an unlimited
number of television channels and asserted that the current provider
DIGEA was currently breaking regulations concerning HD channels and
other parameters. "We have studied the spectrum and, based on studies,
we cannot talk about unlimited channels, both on the basis of market
rules and on the basis of technological infrastructure," he said.

On the fate of the television channels that failed to obtain a licence
to broadcast during the recent tender, Kretsos said that they would not
be forced to close once the 80 days were up, only to stop broadcasting
digitally. Apart from that, they were free to produce and distribute
content using other technologies.

The government's plans for changing labour law were a "cause of war"
and Labour Minister George Katrougalos was "an executioner" of workers'
rights, Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Dimitris
Koutsoumbas said on Thursday, during a press conference at the 81st
Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).

"The government is preparing for a new decisive strike against workers'
labour rights, with a de facto ban on strikes, workers' struggle and a
removal of restrictions for mass layoffs. However much they try to hide
behind European laws...the common stance of the Federation of Hellenic
Enterprises (SEV) and the government is clear. They are trying to leave
the worker and trade union movement toothless, to leave the workers
unarmed in their struggle against this attack," he said.

"Mr.Tsipras advertises the massacre policy of the working classes'
income," said Communist party (KKE) secretary general Dimitris Koutsoumbas
referring to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' speech at Thessaloniki
International Fair (TIF).

"Mr. Tsipras has crossed every margin of our people's political deception
in order to serve the interest of the bourgeois," noted Koutsoumbas at
his press conference in TIF on Thursday. "The new productive model, the
great roadmap that the premier presented is a very old and used recipe
which offers only crumbs to the people and to the youth. He calls on the
people to accept again new measures expecting the miracle of growth. Not
only did the SYRIZA-ANEL government implement the economic measures of
the previous governments but added more", said Koutsoumbas.

The Greek foreign ministry's translation service on Thursday delivered
the completed translation in German of a court order relating to the
Siemens kickbacks case to the Athens Appeals Court Prosecutors' Office,
one week earlier than scheduled, sources informed the Athens-Macedonian
News Agency (ANA).

The translation runs to 4,529 pages in total and includes a chart of
the documents that will be read in connection with the case. According
to the foreign ministry service, the delivery deadline was September
23. Also delivered on the same day was Athens Appeals Justices' Council
order relating to the Johnson case, running to 2,196 pages.

The delivery of the translation was announced in advance by Deputy
Foreign Minister Yiannis Amanatidis on Wednesday, who said the French
translation of the same document will also be delivered in the coming
days and promised that "with a SYRIZA government, the Siemens case will
come to trial."

Municipalities affected by the thunderstorm that struck various regions of
Greece last week will receive a total of 5.5 million euros in emergency
funding, after a decision by Interior Minister Panos Kouroumblis and
Deputy Minister for NSRF Issues, Alexis Charitisis on Thursday.

The severe weather left four dead and several villages and farmland
flooded in just two days. The municipalities include Messinia, Lakonia,
Trikala, Thasos and Thermaikos.

According to the two ministries, the funds, which will be taken from
the country's contributions to the Public Investments Program, will
be allocated exclusively for the restoration of the damages caused by
the rain.

Greece will be at the center of talks in the annual meeting of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on October 7-9 in
Washington DC, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told journalists on Thursday.

Rice said the Fund's mission in Athens will remain in the country for
another week to complete the regular audit of the Greek economy as
part of article 4 of the Fund's regulations and is not related to the
program review.

Asked about the statements by Greek Labour Minister George Katrougalos
that the differences with the IMF on labour reforms 'are extreme',
Rice refused to comment. He only said that the Fund cooperates closely
with Greek authorities and that labour market reforms will constitute
a central part of the next program review.

Industrial production continues showing strong recovery trends despite
a decline in economic activity, while a positive course of general
government finances was supported by higher revenue, due to an increase
in taxes and contributions including revenue from intensifying controls
on undeclared labor, the Federation of Hellenic Enterprises (SEB) said
in its weekly bulletin on economic developments in the country.

SEB said that a small improvement in the labor market reflected increased
tourism activity in the country. Seasonally-adjusted unemployment fell
from a historic high of 27.9 pct in September 2013 to 23.4 pct in June
in 2016. Although the number of unemployed people fell by 232,000,
the number of employed grew by only 169,900 as the Greek workforce
shrank by 62,100. The Federation said that a decline in unemployment
was conjuctural and "was not enough to identify a recovery of the Greek
economy in the framework of a competitive growth".

A sustainable growth of stable employment remains a quest of high
priority, the bulletin said, adding that unemployment will begin falling
only when an implemented economic policy would end, a policy discouraging
the creation of permanent job positions in the private sector. Without
a real increase in employment through private investments and without a
decline in non-payroll labor cost of enterprises, unemployment problems
will intensify, SEB said, and urged for the lifting of all hurdles the
transfer of shares and loan restructuring.

A round of meetings between Greek exporting enterprises with high-ranking
officials of Alibaba on Wednesday already offered significant results,
the Athens Chamber of Tradesmen said.

A Chamber announcement said that Alibaba pledged to raise the number of
Chinese tourists to Greece by 100,000 next summer through its Alitrip
e-platform. Also, Hellenic Post will open an e-shop in the Tmall platform
of Alibaba, addressing to Chinese consumers and develop a support strategy
in the logistics chain of Greek small- and medium-sized enterprises
seeking to export small quantities to China. The Crete region will forge
a cooperation with Alibaba's platform to promote Cretan products to
China and to attract tourists, while the Athens Commerce Club will begin
cooperation with Alitrip and Alipay to interconnect its own innovative
platform of commercial store register, facilitating Chinese visitors to
easily find shops and pay through their smart phones. GRECA, Greece's
e-commerce union, is now in direct contact with Alibaba.

"This is only a small sample of the possibilities offered to Greek
enterprises thanks to the communication channel opened with Alibaba. It
is certain that in the near future there will be several significant
synergies, aimed to boost Greek economy," the Chamber said in an
announcement.

The Athens Chamber of Tradesmen (EEA) on Thursday published a list of
significant agreements made during talks with senior Alibaba executives,
during an event organised by the chamber in Athens on Wednesday.

Among notable results, it listed Alibaba's pledge to increase the number
of Chinese visitors arriving next summer by 100,000 via the internet
platform Alitrip, an agreement with Hellenic Post (ELTA) for an e-shop on
the Tmall platform for Chinese consumers and strategic support for the
supply chain of Greek SMEs wanting to export small quantities to China,
an agreement with the Crete Region to promote Cretan products and attract
tourists, the start of cooperation with the Commercial Association of
Athens with Alitrip and Alipay to link with its own platform showing
shops, restaurants and sites and a link between the Greek eCommerce
Association (GRECA) with Alibaba to examine how Greek digital plaforms
could be linked to Alibaba.

"This is a small sample of the potential that Greek companies have
acquired through the channel of communication opened up by the EEA with
Alibaba," an announcement said.

Greece has largely reformed the unsustainable economic model that led
to the current crisis but financing continues to be a crucial problem in
efforts to complete this transformation, Bank of Greece governor Yannis
Stournaras asserted on Thursday at a European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) seminar.

Stournaras noted that many unsustainable aspects of Greece's growth model
had changed during the crisis years, with the country having largely
eradicated the competitiveness gap that emerged after the country joined
the euro through a process of internal devaluation. At the same time,
he said, the current accounts deficit had shrunk to almost zero. The
greatest part of this adjustment after 2008 was the result of falling
imports, while exports of goods and services (excluding shipping) had
increased by 27 pct in real terms, the central banker noted.

In addition, the export share of Greek products had increased
significantly since 2010, especiallly in non-EU countries, with exports
and imports now accounting for approximately 63 pct of GDP, he added.

Greek unemployment rate fell to 23.1 pct of the workforce in the second
quarter of 2016, from 24.9 pct in the first quarter and 24.6 pct in the
same period last year, with the number of unemployed people totaling
1,112,075, Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Thursday.

Despite a decline in the unemployment rate, two basic problems remain
unresolved: a 49.1 pct of young people aged up to 24 years is unemployed,
while unemployment among young women was 52.5 pct. Also, around 803,000
people, or 72.2 pct of unemployed are long-term unemployed and around
935,000 people, or 84 pct of total unemployed, accept part-time jobs.

The number of unemployed people fell 6.9 pct in the second quarter,
compared with the first quarter, and by 5.8 pct compared with the second
quarter of 2015.

The unemployment rate among women was 27.6 pct (28.3 pct in the second
quarter of 2015), while among men it was 19.4 pct (21.5 pct). The age
group 15-24 recorded the highest unemployment rate (49.1 pct from 49.5 pct
in Q2 2015), followed by the 25-29 age group (32.6 pct from 35.7 pct), the
30-44 age group (21.5 pct from 23.8 pct), the 45-64 age group (19.1 pct
from 18.8 pct) and the above 65 years age group (11.9 pct from 9.9 pct).

An 11.4 pct of unemployed people were seeking full-time jobs, a 84 pct
were seeking full-time jobs but could accept part-time as weel, while
a 4.5 pct were seeking part-time jobs.

The percentage of unemployed people that have not worked before was
21.4 pct of total, while long-term unemployed (more than 12 months)
accounted for 72.2 pct of total.

Employment grew 2.7 pct in the second quarter from the first quarter and
by 2.1 pct compared with the same period last year, totaling 3,702,613
at the end of June. A total of 143,836 people -unemployed a year ago-
found a job in the second quarter, while 115,103 were unemployed -they
were working in the same period last year.

Part-time employment reached 9.8 pct of total employment. The percentage
of wage workers in the Greece was 65.9 pct, the lowest in the EU (83.9
pct of total employment in 2015).

A delegation of the Green Energy Association of Israel -GEA-IL headed
by the general director and founder of the organisation Eitan Parnass
will visit Athens from 19 to 21 September with aim the promotion of
cooperation and of business collaboration between Israel and Greece in
the areas of sustainable and renewable energy.

The Israeli delegation will meet with Greek officials and with
representatives of companies activating in the sector of green energy
and entrepreneurship.

GEA-IL is the most important organisation that promotes the green energy
in Israel. The visit is an initiative of the Israeli Embassy in Athens.

Rural Development Minister Vangelis Apostolou on Thursday met Hans-Joachim
Fuchtel, the Parliamentary state secretary to the German federal minister
for economic cooperation and development, for a discussion on "issues
of mutual interest". Apostolou said the talks with the German envoy had
focused mainly on promoting Greek agricultural products in Germany.

The minister noted that there were currently 11 programmes with a total
budget of 30 million euros engaged in promoting Greek products in other
countries. He said Greece must now focus on exploiting the good quality of
Greek products to ensure a high added value, noting that Greek producers
did not currently benefit from the high final price of their products
"which reach German consumers at prices collected by others along
the way."

The meeting also discussed liquidity issues in the agricultural sector
and the need to create a specialist agency, the penetration of Greek
products in German networks and cooperation issues.

Interamerican said its pre-tax profits totaled 6.3 million euros in
the first half of 2016, up 20 pct from estimates, while gross premium
production amounted to 167 million euros in the January-June period for
a market share of 9.0 pct in the domestic insurance market.

General insurance premium production was 94 million euros in the first
half, almost unchanged from last year's levels, while vehicle insurance
production was 68.8 million euros, covering 553,774 vehicles.

Interamerican said the introduction of a "Buy the Mile" insurance program
helped the company to improve its production. The loss rate in general
insurance shrank to 50.7 pct reflecting an excellent management of
underwriting, while the market share rose to 11.4 pct, ranking at the
top of the market.

In the health sector, gross premium production was 41 million euros,
around last year's levels, while in the life insurance sector production
was 32 million euros, hit by the implementation of capital controls in
the market.

Interamerican has fully adjusted to the requirements of Solvency II with
timely organizational, structural, administrative and marketing moves.

The customer satisfaction rate was 85 pct for Interamerican and 91 pct
for Anytime.

"Interamerican continues successfully to implement projects to make its
operations fully digital, offering significant value to all interested
parts," George Kotsalos, chief executive of the Group said.

The Greek supermarket sector will change following the latest developments
in Marinopoulos Group, Iacovos Andreanidis, president of Lidl Hellas
said on Thursday.

In an interview with ANA, Andreanidis said that "following the latest
developments with Marinopoulos unboubtedly the landscape in the Greek
retail market will change. We hope that this new agreement will create
the preconditions for a healthy competition environment, all workers
will keep their job positions and suppliers will safeguard a sustainable
growth," Andreanidis said.

He noted that "a prevailing new economic situation has brought changes in
the retail sector and in commerce in general. We do not move to mergers
and acquisitions, on the contrary we support the market, create new job
positions, invest and develop actions beneficial to the Greek society".

He said that Lidl Hellas was implementing an investment plan worth
more than 100 million euros for the development of its branch network,
expanding its logistics facilities in Attiki and Trikala and to modernize
existing retail units. "Our aim is to continue investing in Greece,
to contribute in boosting the economy and create new job positions,"
he added.

Lidl Hellas has a network of 220 units around the country,
five state-of-the-art logistics centers and "all these years we
evolve and modernize with the aim to offer maximum services to
consumers". Andreanidis said Lidl Hellas has won the bet to achieve
top product quality at the cheapest price, adding that in 2016 the
company adopted new generation stores (in July the first stores opened
in Alikarnassos and Diavata), while another four stores were expected
to open this year (Florina, Drama, Messini and Lamina). The cost of
each new generation store is around 4.0 million euros, while the cost
of a compatible store was only 1.5 million euros. Total spending on new
generation stores reached around one-fourth of annual investments.

Andreanidis said turnover grew by 6.2 pct in the March-June period,
compared with the same period last year, to more than 475 million
euros. "We are optimistic that next year we will have positive results as
well, given the confidence showed by consumers," he noted. He said that
a deregulation of markets was boosting competition, creating conditions
to improve services to consumers. "Our company will examine the case of
selling over-the-counter pharmaceutical products and the decision will
be based on potential benefits to consumers," he said.

Andreanidis said there are different factors for setting prices between
countries and in particularly in Greece "issues such as taxation,
contribution, funding, geographical data, etc, additional transport
expenses, different operating spending and extra taxes explain the
price difference presented by some products between Greece and foreign
markets". Taxation and in particular, indirect taxation which has been
raised repeatedly in the past few years, justify any possible differences
in product selling prices between Greece and abroad. "Despite this,
I would like to stress that price differences are not always on the
upside for our country but there are several cases, where comparison is
in favor of Greek families, as product prices in Greece are cheaper than
other countries, such as the majority of fruit and vegetables," he noted.

"Greek consumers, as a result of the crisis, seek clever quality purchases
and we support this in Lidl," Andreanidis said, adding "to achieve this
clever quality purchases we follow the principles of "discount" that
does not mean any compromise on quality. We operate on the principle of
simplicity and we believe on efficiency to the benefit of consumer. We
take advantage of technology to the maximum and improve our company on
a daily basis. We steadily cut our operating expenses and our prices,
and carefully select our products to cover all the needs of modern
consumer. And all these towards our main goal to offer quality producs
at the cheapest prices," he said.

The imposition of capital controls last July hit certain categories of
food products in supermarkets and this impact was reflected on this
year's market results. The pasta market reported a 15 pct decline in
volume in the July-August period and a 10 pct drop in the eight-month
period from January to August.

George Spiliopoulos, chief executive of Barilla Hellas SA, owner of the
Misko brands, said that the company will report a loss of only 5.0 pct
in the Greek market this year, improving its market share.

Barilla Hellas is the largest pasta industry in Greece and one of the
five better subsidiaries of Barilla Group. He said that the parent
company has given the taks to its Greek subsidiary for the production
of specific products -produced only in Greece-because of the quality of
raw material and production quality, while Italy is the largest export
country for Misko products.

Exports contribute around 15 million euros annually, while volume of
exports amounted to 80,000 tons in the last five years.

Misko sales totaled 72.9 million euros in 2015, from 72.5 million in
2014, while profits totaled 4.3 million euros in 2015 from 2.7 million
in 2014. Spiliopoulos expects this year's sales to slightly surpass 73
million euros. The company has a 40 pct market share, with the remaining
30 pct belonging to a competitor and a 30 pct to private lable products.

Barilla Hellas has completed investment programs worth around 70 million
euros, of which 5.0 million euros in the last three years (2013-2015)
at its factories in Thiva and Volos. The company has signed production
contracts covering 60,000 stremmata (one stremma=1,000 sq.m.) of Greek
farmers, absorbing 75,000 tons of Greek hard wheat each year.

The development of domestic pharmaceutical industry serves two national
goals of critical importance: cutting public pharmaceutical spending and
putting a break on a brain drain phenomenon, Deputy Economy, Development
and Tourism Minister Theodora Tzakri said on Thursday.

Addressing an event to present an action plan for the pharmaceutical
industry, Tzakri said spending cuts will be achieved from increasing
the share of generic medicines in the Greek market to the expense of
prototype medicines. Generic medicines are currently holding a 28 pct
market share in Greece, the lowest in the European Union.

The pharmaceutical industry can also offer employment and new job
positions to highly-training human resources, directly to enterprises
and indirectly to research agencies, limiting a brain drain phenomenon.

The Greek minister said an action plan for the pharmaceutical industry
has begun, with an inter-ministerial commission and six working groups
already in place. Tzakri said that a new development law -which
acknowledges pharmaceutical industry as one of strategic priority
sectors in manufacturing- offers new funding tools to the industry,
while the ministry was expected to launch a series of actions shortly,
related with boosting competitiveness, export activity, research and
innovation of manufacturing enterprises -including pharmaceuticals-
while another series of programs aimed to support manufacturing was
currently under planning to be launched later this year.

The ministry has also launched actions to support public research
infrastructure and actions for the vocational training and knowledge
certification of workers in strategic sectors for economic growth,
including pharmaceuticals. The minister noted that pharmaceutical industry
was the only sector which raised its workforce by 3,681 during the crisis,
and managed to preserve 15,000 related job positions.

The European Commission on Thursday approved the registra-tion of the
Greek fava bean variety 'Fava Feneou' as a Protected Geographic Indication
(PGI) food.

An announcement said that the production and cultivation of Fava Feneou is
mainly confined to the Feneos and Stymfalia plateaus in the Peloponnesian
region of Corinth. The specific product is cultivated since the end of
the 19th century and is considered of high nutritional value, while the
expertise of local producers remains largely within families. The addition
of Fava Feneou brings the number of Greek protected-name foods to 104.

Grand Resort Lagonissi was voted Europe's Leading Luxury Wedding Resort
at the World Travel Awards 2016, one of the most prestigious accolades
in the hospitality industry, the hotel said in a press release.

The selection was made by travel agents and wedding planners from around
the world, who said the hotel was voted for its "particularly high level
of quality of its services and unique facilities".

The announcement was made at the 2016 Europe Gala Ceremony, held in
Sardinia, Italy.

A business mission from the food sector to Japan and South Korea is
organised by Enterprise Greece Invest and Trade in cooperation with the
bureaus of Economic and Trade Affairs in Tokyo and Seoul from 26 November
to 3 December 2016.

The delegation will be in Tokyo from 28 to 30 November and the companies
representatives will hold meetings with Japanese food import and export
companies at the hotel Okura and according to schedule.

FF Group on Thursday said its consolidated turnover grew 9.8 pct to 652.7
million euros in the first half of 2016, from 594.3 million in the same
period last year. In an announcement, FF Group said improved operating
activity throughout all business sectors of the group led to an increase
in operating earnings to 131.5 million euros in the January-June period,
from 113.2 million last year, an increase of 16.2 pct. Consolidated
EBITDA was 148.8 million euros, up 16.1 pct. Consolidated after tax and
minorities earnings were 97.4 million euros.

The jewelry, watch, accessories sector recorded a 10.3 pct increase in
turnover to 482.5 million euros. EBITDA was 135 million euros, up 15
pct from the same period last year.

The department store sector recorded a turnover of 82.8 million euros in
the January-June period, up 5.9 pct compared with the corresponding period
last year. EBITDA was 8.0 million euros, up from 6.0 million in 2015.

The wholesale/retail clothing and footwear sector recorded a turnover
of 87.4 million euros in the first half of the year, up 11 pct from
2015. EBITDA was 5.8 million euros, up from 4.76 million in the same
period in 2015.

Tzortzis Koutsolioutsos, chief executive of FF Group, commenting on the
results said: "2016 is developing positively for our group. Despite
continues challenges in the external environment (Brexit, terrorist
attacks, etc), business sectors continue to develop successfully and to
show remarkable resistance. In this framework, the group implements
its strategic plan and proceeds with its digital transformation,
to meet the modern needs of global retail commerce and of the new
consumers. Additionally, it expands its presence in new markets and its
range of product. A readjustment of our operating model is currently
underway to achieve our short-term and medium-term goals. Our priority is
to continue leading the group with safety to the benefit of shareholders
and workers".

The employment composite index in the retail commerce sector in Greece
grew 0.2 pct in the second quarter of 2016 compared with the same period
last year, up 1.4 pct from the first quarter 2016, Hellenic Statistical
Authority said on Thursday.

The statistics service, in a report, said that the working hours index
grew 0.4 pct in the second quarter compared with 2015, but rose 2.5 pct
from the first quarter of 2016. The wages index grew 0.3 pct from the
same period in 2015, but jumped 17.8 pct compared with the first quarter
of 2016.

The seasonally-adjusted employment composite index in the retail commerce
sector grew 0.7 pct in the March-June period compared with the first
quarter of the year, the working hours index rose 0.3 pct and the wages
index fell 0.8 pct.

Greece, via Enterprise Greece, will have its own pavilion at the
International exhibition Vinexpo in Tokyo. The exhibition will take place
at the hotel Prince Park Tower Hotel in the period 15-16 November 2016.

The Greek pavilion will have the form of a wine bar in which will be
presented wines from producers that seek cooperation with Japanese import
and distribution companies.

The international exhibition Vinexpo Nippon is organised for second time
in Japan.

Those interested can contact the Economic and Trade Affairs Bureau in
Tokyo: ecocom-tokyo@mfa.gr.

Greek stocks ended slightly lower in the Athens Stock Exchange on
Thursday, pushing the composite index of the market closer to the
550-point support level. Blue chip stocks such as Coca Cola HBC and OPAP
scored big gains, while Alpha Bank, Eurobank, Jumbo and National Bank
suffered losses.

The composite index of the market eased 0.76 pct to end at 551.93 points,
after rising as much as 0.63 pct early in the day. The Large Cap index
ended 0.80 pct down and the Mid Cap index ended 0.80 pct lower. Turnover
was a low 37.762 million euros in volume of 42,772,108 shares.

Piraeus Bank and National Bank were the most heavily traded securities
of the day. Broadly, decliner led advancers by 59 to 37 with another 25
issues unchanged. Yalco (17.14 pct), Haidemenos (10 pct) and Sarantopoulos
Mills (9.95 pct) were top gainers, while Lavipharm (18.99 pct), Varvaresos
(18.92 pct) and Naftemporiki (10 pct) were top losers.

The yield spread between the 10-year Greek and German benchmark bonds
eased slightly to 8.43 pct in the domestic electronic secondary bond
market on Thursday, from 8.47 pct the previous day, with the Greek bond
yielding 8.46 pct and the German Bund yielding 0.03 pct. Turnover was
a thin 4.0 million euros, all sell orders.

In interbank markets, interest rates were mixed. The 12-month rate rose
to -0.053 pct from -0.054 pct, the nine-month rate was -0.125 pct, the
six-month rate was -0.199 pct, the three-month rate was -0.301 pct from
-0.302 pct and the one-month rate was -0.371 pct.

The Athens Flying Week 2016 will be held on September 17-18 at the
airbase of Tanagra for two amazing days to offer a unique air show,
and a series of individual events.

The best pilots of military and civil aviation will offer to the
spectators a show of maneuvers and acrobatics.

According to the organizers, this will be the biggest aviation event
of southeast Europe for 2016, with confirmed participations from 13
countries among them Spain, Sweden, Italy, Germany and Netherlands.

Tom De Moortel, pilot of the Belgian Air Force, will present a solo show
with an F-16, while a Soko G-2 Galeb from Serbia will fly in the colours
of the former Yugoslav Air Force.

From our neighbouring Italy, the world champion Luca Bertossio returns
with a unique acrobatic maneuvers programme with his glider.

From Sweden, Johan Gustafsson, is also expected to impress the
audience. From Spain, Patrulla Aguila will participate with a total of
seven aircraft Casa C-101 Aviojet presenting a spectacular performance
of absolute synchronization.

From Italy, the group of "WeFlyTeam", confirms the power of the will,
since the two pilots are stranded in a wheelchair.

The Polish Air Force participates with an F-16 and a Sukhoi-22UM3K.

The Netherlands will participate with an acrobatic aircraft Sukhoi 26MX
and the German Air Force is represented by a Tornado ECR and Britain
with a Chinook HC2 helicopter.

The 'birdman' Yves Rossy from Switzerland will offer a spectacular
performance since his is the first man in the aviation history that flew
with a jet engine attached on a wing on his back.

Romania comes with a brand new Boeing 737-700 and Danielle Hughes from
Switzerland will dare to unfasten her belt and climb on the wings of a
two-seater biplane Boeing Stearman.

The spectators will have also the opportunity to admire the flights of
an F-4E AUP Phantom II, a Mirage 2005 and a Super Puma helicopter of the
Greek Airforce along with the acrobatic team Daedalus with the single
engine T-6A.

The establishment of a Holocaust Museum and Education center in the area
of Thessaloniki railway station dominated a meeting between Thessaloniki
mayor Yiannis Boutaris and the German Minister of State for Europe
Affairs Michael Roth on Thursday at the city hall.

Members of the Israeli community of Thessaloniki took part in the meeting
as well as representatives of the German Consulate in Thessaloniki.

The German side underlined that 5 million euros for the building of the
museum will be disbursed in 2017 and the next installments in 2018.

Boutaris has already announced that for the establishment of the Museum
the German government will offer 10 million euros and another 10 million
euros will be given by the Stavros Niarchos institution.

A highly toxic mercury cargo weighting a total of 114 tons was found
stored in a warehouse in Aspropyrgos, an industrial area in west Attica,
the Environment ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the cargo had been illegally transferred from
Germany to Greece and remained stored in the facilities of a recycling
company. The ministry's inspectors discovered it in August 2014 and
also found that another 51 tons of the hazardous cargo had been stored
in the warehouse since 2011, but had since been sent back to Germany.

The return of the remaining mercury was halted as its nature was being
argued: authorities characterized it as a waste, while the company
called it a product. O resolve the issue, the two sides appealed to the
Greek Ombudsman in 2015, who decided that the cargo is waste and not
a product. The Ombudsman also decided the cargo had to be returned as
Greece doesn't have appropriately licensed storage area or transport
for mercury waste.

According to the ministry, after consultations with German authorities,
the cargo was returned in two phases: the first on February 12 and 10
days later the second cargo.

In case of a leak, mercury and its compounds are highly toxic to
humans and the ecosystem. Relatively low doses can have serious
adverse neurodevelopmental effects and potentially adverse effects on
the cardiovascular, immune and reproductive systems, while high doses
are lethal.

The archaeological site of ancient Messini is reopening on Saturday as
the work to repair the damages caused by severe thunderstorms last week
have almost been completed, the culture ministry said on Thursday.

The thorough cleaning and maintenance of the site's monuments will
continue and be completed with the funding allocated by the ministry. An
ongoing collaboration with the Region of Peloponnese and the municipality
of Messina is also underway for the protection of the wider area of
ancient Messina from floods and fires.

The site contains the ruins of the large classical city-state of Messene
refounded by Epaminondas in 369 BC, after the battle of Leuctra and the
first Theban invasion of the Peloponnese.

A Chios Misdemeanours Court on Thursday handed down six-month jail
terms, suspended for three years, for 79 defendants found guilty of
fraudulently claiming blindness in order to claim disability benefits. All
79 had applied with fake certificates of blindness issued by a specific
doctor. Of the 120 originally charged, nine had passed away before they
were indicted, 19 died before the case came to trial, six were acquitted
of deliberate fraud and seven were acquitted due to doubts.

The hospital oculist that issued the fake certificates of blindness
was sentenced to four years and six months in prison, suspended pending
appeal on condition that the doctor be put on probation.

60,107 identified refugees and migrants were on the Greek territory on
Thursday while 21 new arrivals were reported in the last 24 hours.

According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures,
16,301 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 8,593 are hosted in
the region of Attica and 2,567 are hosted in facilities of central
and southern Greece. 8,906 refugees and migrants are hosted in several
facilities rented by the UNHCR, 2,477 in non-organised facilities 8,100
persons are living outside organised facilities.

13,163 refugees and migrants were recorded on the eastern Aegean islands.

Mostly fair weather and northerly winds are forecast for Friday. Wind
velocity will reach 6 on the Beaufort scale. Partly cloudy in the
afternoon in the northern and western parts of the country with
temperatures ranging from 15C to 32C. Scattered clouds in the eastern
parts with temperatures between 15C and 33C. Sunny over the Aegean
islands and Crete, 20C-30C. Mostly fair in Athens, 19C-32C; the same
for Thessaloniki, 17C-31C.